Warranty

[solaman]

The wife and I are starting the process of finding a travel trailer. We where wondering which ones have the best warranty. We thought that would be a good place to start.

[MarkTwain]

proxim2020 wrote:
Warranties with RVs are kind of tricky. The warranty isn't a complete bumper to bumper warranty like what you get with a new car. The standard warranty only covers the box that the RV manufacturer built. Things like the walls, roof, wood work, plumbing, floor, electrical, etc are covered in the event of a failure.

One last thing, the question you should ask yourself is what warranties should I avoid. Some companies have a history of hampering the warranty process or unfairly denying claims. Some would rather keep money in their pockets rather than stepping up and doing the right thing. I'm not dropping any names. Those owners can speak for themselves and they're pretty easy to find the stories if you search the forum. Find out which companies you should avoid.

X1, Right on, could not agree more!!!!!

[MarkTwain]

Warranties--
One axiom you can depend on " All trailers will have warranty issues, some are just more expensive than others" Personally I feel "Extended warranties" are like swiss cheese, full of holes that are full of exceptions and designed to not pay for damages"

[Community Alumni]

Warranties with RVs are kind of tricky. The warranty isn't a complete bumper to bumper warranty like what you get with a new car. The standard warranty only covers the box that the RV manufacturer built. Things like the walls, roof, wood work, plumbing, floor, electrical, etc are covered in the event of a failure. Failures with the appliances, HVAC equipment, chassis and its components, even the tires are covered by their own separate manufacturer's warranty. The RV manufacturer has no obligation to repair or replace an item that's covered by separate manufacturer's warranty and often times they'll defer you to that manufacturer to get service. Your better companies will actually step up and just replace the part without putting you through that hassle.

The best manufacturers warranty is the one that you never have to use. Having a 2 or even 4 year warranty is great, but it's not so great if you're frequently using it. It's great that you don't have to pay for the repairs, but when your rig is in the shop for weeks on end throughout the year then it's no benefit to you. Once the warranty period expires and the failures continue, you'll be wishing that you never purchased the trailer. In other words find a better built trailer so that you don't have to use the warranty. You don't really know what to look out for now, but heavily educate yourself. Asking questions, as you have done here, is a good first step.

Also, the length of warranty doesn't necessarily equate to quality. Before we bought our Coachmen last year, we looked at a manufacturer that offered a longer warranty. We consistently found quality issues in every unit we went in. Almost all were minor, but the issues were blatantly visible. If they had not paid enough attention with the simple stuff, I'd hate to find out how they screwed up the big stuff. With Coachmen, every unit we went in, big or small, was made right as far as we could see. We opted to take a standard 1 year warranty in the hopes that we would rarely have to use it. Our warranty just expired and we only had one claim during the entire period. We had a lock that got stuck and it was replaced.

One last thing, the question you should ask yourself is what warranties should I avoid. Some companies have a history of hampering the warranty process or unfairly denying claims. Some would rather keep money in their pockets rather than stepping up and doing the right thing. I'm not dropping any names. Those owners can speak for themselves and they're pretty easy to find the stories if you search the forum. Find out which companies you should avoid.

[MarkTwain]

2012Coleman wrote:

solaman wrote:
Sorry, we want to keep it under 30 feet and tow it with a half ton truck. We will be using it mostly on the weekends and vacations. We both like the Grand Design Imagine 25 RL.

I'd take the Grand Design over the Jayco regardless of Jayco's 2 year warranty. GD's customer support is well known, and they have a great customer forum.

If you want options, then look at Arctic Fox, Lance, Jayco. Most Warranties are one year. The best thing you can do is to research your dealer to determine their customer's satisfaction with their service facilities. For Camping world, check with the Dear Marcus section of this forum.

Good luck!

X1! Stay away from Camping World :(:(:(

[2012Coleman]

solaman wrote:
Sorry, we want to keep it under 30 feet and tow it with a half ton truck. We will be using it mostly on the weekends and vacations. We both like the Grand Design Imagine 25 RL.

I'd take the Grand Design over the Jayco regardless of Jayco's 2 year warranty. GD's customer support is well known, and they have a great customer forum.

If you want options, then look at Arctic Fox, Lance, Jayco. Most Warranties are one year. The best thing you can do is to research your dealer to determine their customer's satisfaction with their service facilities. For Camping world, check with the Dear Marcus section of this forum.

Good luck!

[BillB800si]

solaman wrote:
The wife and I are starting the process of finding a travel trailer. We where wondering which ones have the best warranty. We thought that would be a good place to start.

===============================

Last I heard Jayco still has their 2 year warranty. Also Forest River has an optional second year warranty for $150.(Must be bought thru Forest River- not the dealer).
If you want to keep it light then look at the all aluminum construction (including roof trusses)instead of the wood units.
Happy trails,

[NanciL]

Forest River has the worst !
From one who jut bought a new one.

Jack L

[Terryallan]

solaman wrote:
The wife and I are starting the process of finding a travel trailer. We where wondering which ones have the best warranty. We thought that would be a good place to start.

It actually is a good place to start. And in truth Jayco offers one of the best, and longest warranties on the market.

they also have many models that can be easily towed by a properly equipped F150, or 1500 series truck. I will not call them 1/2 ton. Because they are so much more than that. No such thing as a half ton any more.
AS with any truck. It will need to have the right motor, and proper gearing.

[MarkTwain]

solaman wrote:
Sorry, we want to keep it under 30 feet and tow it with a half ton truck. We will be using it mostly on the weekends and vacations. We both like the Grand Design Imagine 25 RL.

Great! By answering a few of the questions you have started to narrow down your RV choices. As you already know, using a 1/2 will narrow your RV choices. Look at the Lance trailers.

[solaman]

Sorry, we want to keep it under 30 feet and tow it with a half ton truck. We will be using it mostly on the weekends and vacations. We both like the Grand Design Imagine 25 RL.

[MarkTwain]

solaman wrote:
The wife and I are starting the process of finding a travel trailer. We where wondering which ones have the best warranty. We thought that would be a good place to start.

IMHO, you are starting at the wrong end of the RV buying process. Suggest:
1. figure out what kind, where, how much time you plan to spend on your RV adventures i.e. snowbirds, 30 days a yr. , week ends only?? winter/summer/both, RV resorts or boon docking?
2. what floor plan will fill most of your expected uses?
3. what size RV? TT, 5th wheel, pusher other?
4. how many people will normally be using the RV?
5. What size of Tow truck do you currently own? can you financially afford a bigger truck if needed.
Now after you have looked a bunch of RV's, narrow your search and select 5 or 6 RV's you think will best meet your needs.
6 now you can research the various warranties and then decide which RV to buy:):)